Showing posts with label One day rides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label One day rides. Show all posts

Ferry trip to Elephanta Caves

Posted: by Pulsurge in Labels: , ,
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"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."- Mark Twain

Major part of my childhood was spent at Colaba and I always dreamt of ferrying all the way to Elephanta Caves. Somehow it never happened and the experience just remained a curiousity until this Saturday all thanks to fellow PUG Jayaram from Pune :)

Met up with Jayaram at the Gateway of India. Was carrying three kids alongwith me- Shamika and two other married ones- Bhau and his wife ;) Purchasing tickets from the MTDC counter was swift and in no time we boarded the ferry. Buggers charge 10 bucks more for the upper deck...anyways no big deal.

We leave the shores and distance ourselves away from the bustling city into the sea.

Spotting a few sea vessels in all shapes and sizes.

An amazing boat ride of around 1 hour takes us to the shores of Elephanta Island.

A shaky and noisy but fun-filled mini train equal to your walking pace takes us near the base of the hill (charges Rs.10 bucks).
From hereon it was travel back into time starting off with a few exhibits on display at the museum.

Figure of ardhanarisvara, a form of Lord Shiva with the combined energies of male and female.

Gangadhara Shiva
Andhakasura Vadha Murti (Siva killing the demon)

The gigantic dwarapaals
A sculpture of Lord Shiva as Nataraja

Marriage of Lord Shiva (Uma Mahesvara)

Mahesa-murti. A colossal bust of the three forms of Siva, the aghora, turbulent and fearsome; tatpurusha, benign and meditative and vamadeva, mild pleasing and lovable.

Explorations done and we headed back gliding over the sea back to base.



HERE are a few pics. Clicked from my mobile and somehow have not come that good, the phone needs some cleanup.

Sunday burst to Malshej

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We shall return home as better friends than we started our tour...........Stein Morten


Another Sunday hinting on a boring day that would pass away faster than I could think. To put the time to best use is of course riding in my lawbook- so here I go on a short bust with Alkesh and Sarang, and colleagues Swapnil and Nilesh.

We meet up at Thane and after having a small breakfast at Murbad proceed to our nearby destination in the hills called Malshej.


A few clicks for poses.


A few for the straights


...and a few for the curves


Some serene moments absorbing the warm sunlight in the cool mountain breeze.


To some off the road places leaning over the edges.


A refreshing dip for our bikes


To a refreshing lunch for ourselves at MTDC.


Great climate, lovely roads, beautiful scenery and the best part- great company of friends...made it worth a day's outing


A short collection of memories HERE

A day's trek to Rajgad- the KING of forts!

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Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will --whatever we may think......Lawrence Durrell

Come Sunday and I was out on a one day trek to Rajgad Fort situated approx 45 kms from Pune. Saving on the efforts to type an epic on this mighty fort in my own words, wikipedia makes the job easier and you can read about Rajgad HERE.

Getting back to the trip, I was supposed to leave at 5 in the morning, got up late and finally rolled out at 9.30.

Reached the base village and started the trek at 1 in the noon and the sun was sapping every bit of energy. Was carrying Glucon-D and Electral dissolved solution to counter the fatigue. The way I was getting tired taking halts every 10 mins

The view getting better with altitude.

Once I got to the rocky sections- it was easier and with the shade of the mountain- it was a lot less tiring. I thought it would take me 4 hours to get on top- but in the the end I was there in 2 hours 15 mins.

Localites on their return.

Entrance to the Chor Darwaza was fun- though it was surprising.


An absolute cracker of a Fort and stands true to its name RAJGAD- the spread of the this mighty structure is simply mind-boggling.
So here started my site seeing starting off with the Padmavati Talao.

The Samadhi of Sayeebai- the first wife of Shri Shivaji Maharaj.

The Padmavati temple- its more of a place for an overnight halt.

The Sadar (meeting hall) and the Talghar (underground room).


One of the best and thrilling experiences was making my way down to the Gunjanwan Darwaza. The path was covered with tall grass and shrubs giving me a scare of a snake-bite, plus the stunning silence was too much for my liking- was thrilled to the core.


And here comes the best sight of the trek...the view from Chilkhati Buruj...felt like I was on the Great Wall of China.

The Mahadarwaza, Balle Killa and the view from the top were icing on the cake.


Rajgad Deepotsav organised by a trekker group from Pune.
As it usually happens I got late on departure- the Pune trekker group mentioned they too would be trekking down. Assured by their words I waited back to click their pics and that was the biggest mistake. Their descend was only till Padmavati Machi and not to the base village. Feeling disgusted I started hurrying and by the time I even reached the exit, the sun had gone down.


Got through the difficult sections as fast I could, but after that it was a nightmare- I could see nothing, absolutely nothing. Was walking purely on judgment- stones and pebbles under my feet meant I was on the right track- a grassy section and I knew I went off the way- had numerous falls and crashes on the way- my every 3rd or 4th step was a fall, never crashed so much on my bike in 6 years. Reached a small hut kind of a hotel on the way and asked a localite to help me reach the village- he was not at all ready to do so. Got frustrated and just carried on walking as I had till there, but this time I got tensed- I knew I had landed in trouble and stopped walking. The hotel was at least a saving grace- didnt want to land up where I could neither reach the village and nor the hotel. Returned back and luckily there was a group returning and best part equipped with a torch. Joined them and in 15 mins I was at the base village. Resolved never to trek without a torch.

My watch had stopped working in the crashing process so didnt have an idea as to what time I started riding back- reached home at 1.30 in the night- but not before coming across a couple of terrible accidents on the way.

My route and distance: Mira Road-Thane-Panvel-Khopoli-Lonavla-Pune-Nasrapur-Gunjavne and back: 486 kms.

Minus the injuries- it was one of the best treks I had. Memorable enough to go back to the mighty Rajgad, and this time I'll be basking in the warmth of the sunrise next morning.

HERE is the complete set of pics clicked through my mobile phone.